Friday, September 16, 2011

Humbly Asking

We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic – what a find! – and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
Matthew 13:44, The Message

“So in terms of what every man needs most crucially, all man’s power is powerless because at its roots, of course, the deepest longing of the human soul is the longing for God, and this no man has the power to satisfy.”
- Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

Humbly Asking

How many times have we asked God to give us patience only to get mad with ourselves or God when “patience” didn’t show up when we wanted it? Perhaps we really weren’t interested in being more patient. Maybe, what we really wanted was relief from the tension and discomfort that we were feeling at that time. With what we are learning now, we will probably find it to be much more helpful to simply admit to ourselves, to God and to another person that we are impatient by nature and that we want to change. We want to learn to think and to act differently - patiently. This is real world humility. This kind of openness helps us to have a more natural willingness to ask others for direction and then to responsibly follow whatever good advice we get.

Saying, “Dear God, I want to be more patient” sounds good, but we may miss the subtle demand that we are making, holding God responsible for our impatient character and problems. But when we say “Dear God, “I am an impatient person,” we offer the truth about ourselves and we accept responsibility for being impatient. Humbly asking is asking for changes to our character and thinking with no demand for changes in the external circumstances of our lives.

The ultimate purpose of all prayer is to get hold of God. To do so we have to let go of our pride, inviting God to act according to His purpose in our lives. Changes in our circumstances are optional; changes in our character are necessary. We become the changes we desire. God will be our strength and He will empower us to do what we are responsible to do.